Madison football team tops Sand Creek

Saturday

Oct 6, 2012 at 10:00 AMOct 6, 2012 at 10:04 AM

Trojans beat Aggies 13-3 for 1st TCC victory

By Nate PentecostDaily Telegram Special Writer

For only the third time since 1981, the Madison High School football team topped Sand Creek on Friday. The 13-3 win over their Tri-County Conference opponent was made more unique by the fact that it was Trojan coach Taz Wallace's birthday.

"My birthday doesn't matter tonight," Wallace insisted. "We had a great effort across the board. This win feels good, and I'm proud of our kids."

Both teams threatened to score with a red zone visit in the first half, but neither was able to put up crooked numbers as the score remained locked at zero heading into the break.

The Aggies (2-5, 2-3 TCC) put themselves in prime position to take an early lead on their opening drive, ripping off 14 straight runs for 64 yards to reach the Madison 1-yard line. However. on fourth-and-goal the Sand Creek was dragged down in the backfield by a pack of Trojans (3-4, 1-4) to end the drive.

"There was no execution by us all night," said Sand Creek coach Ernie Ayers. "We were great last week, but it wasn't there this week. We have no excuses. We just didn't come ready to play."

Madison reached Sand Creek territory just once in the first half, on the last drive. Junior quarterback Collin Slates locked in on a receiver streaking deep down the left sideline with less than a minute until the break, but the ball landed just beyond his wideout near the Aggies 10-yard line.

Slates completed 6-of-15 passes for a game-high 56 yards with an interception. He added 35 yards on the ground over eight attempts, while junior running back Jake Hamilton led the team with 39 yards on 11 attempts.

Sand Creek opened up the second half with another promising drive that began at its own 35-yard line. Senior quarterback Kolton Alcock picked up 64 yards on four rushes to put the Aggies in the red zone, but the drive stalled, forcing Sand Creek to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead with 7:51 left in the third quarter.

Alcock posted a game-high 124 rushing yards over 24 carries (5.2 yards per carry), but went 0-for-10 on passing attempts, including an interception. Senior tailback Elliott Rains was second on the team with 30 rushing yards over 10 carries.

"Kolton played well, but they started to take some things away from us," Ayers said. "We've got to be able to do some other things like catch the ball and avoid turnovers."

Slates lit up the scoreboard for the Trojans in the closing minutes of the third quarter after breaking through multiple tackles to reach the open field for a 73-yard dash. A missed extra point left Madison with a 6-3 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

"We just stuck with the game plan. Things aren't always going to go your way," Wallace. "We always tell the kids, it's a 48 minute game so you can't get too high or too low."

Sand Creek's final five drives resulted in a trio of three-and-outs, an interception and a turnover on downs.

The Aggies' last three-and-out, which occurred with just over seven minutes left in the game, was followed by a 19-yard punt which gave Madison the ball at Sand Creek's 45-yard line.

The Trojans capitalized with a drive capped off by a 2-yard touchdown leap by Slates which ensured the Madison victory.

"You have to look adversity in the eye and respond," Wallace said. "Our kids did that today."